2000
#690
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 45,289
First available Census row
Per 100,000 16.79
Uncommon Last name
Orozco
A Basque habitational surname indicating a person from any of the various places called Orozco in northern Spain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 74,998 Americans carry the last name Orozco. That puts it at #500 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 21.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 4,570 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Orozco surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
75K
1 in 4,570
Census rank
#500
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
21.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
65K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 65,402 bearers of the surname Orozco in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 21.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 500th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Orozco, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.9%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Orozco
The surname Orozco originates from Spain and dates back to the 15th century. It is a locational surname derived from the town of Orozco in the Basque region of Spain. The name is thought to be derived from the Basque word "orots," meaning "new," and "ko," meaning "place," referring to a new settlement or village.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Orozco can be found in various historical documents from the Basque region, such as land records, census records, and parish registers. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Juan de Orozco, a prominent nobleman who lived in the late 15th century and was involved in the Spanish conquest of the Americas.
During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, many individuals with the surname Orozco migrated to the New World, particularly to Mexico and other parts of Latin America. One notable figure was Juan Orozco y Covarrubias (1601-1680), a Spanish missionary and linguist who worked among the indigenous populations of Mexico and authored several works on their languages and cultures.
Another significant bearer of the Orozco surname was José Clemente Orozco (1883-1949), a renowned Mexican painter and muralist. He was a leading figure in the Mexican Renaissance and is known for his powerful murals depicting revolutionary themes and the struggles of the working class.
In the realm of literature, José Orozco Muñoz (1856-1936) was a prominent Mexican writer and historian who authored several books on Mexican history and culture, including "Apuntes para la historia de la geografía en México" (Notes on the History of Geography in Mexico).
The name Orozco has also been associated with various places and landmarks, such as the town of Orozco in the Basque Country, as well as the Orozco y Berra crater on the planet Mercury, named after the Mexican geographer and historian Antonio Orozco y Berra (1816-1881).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Orozco
Among Census respondents with the surname Orozco, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.9%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Orozco bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Orozco surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino94.9% · 62,084
- White3.9% · 2,556
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 319
- Two or more races0.2% · 157
- Black or African American0.2% · 146
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 140
Timeline
Historical Census data for Orozco
Orozco appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#512
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 65,904
+20,615 bearers (+45.5%)
Per 100,000 22.34
Rank movement Up 178 places
2020
#500
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 65,402
-502 bearers (-0.8%)
Per 100,000 21.88
Rank movement Up 12 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #690 | 45,289 | 16.79 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #512 | 65,904 | 22.34 | +20,615 bearers (+45.5%) | Up 178 places |
| 2020 | #500 | 65,402 | 21.88 | -502 bearers (-0.8%) | Up 12 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Orozco surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #512 | #500 | 2.3% |
| Count | 65,904 | 65,402 | -0.8% |
| Per 100K | 22.34 | 21.88 | -2.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Orozco bearers went from 65,904 to 65,402 (-0.8% change). The surname moved up 12 positions in the national ranking, going from #512 to #500.
FAQ
Orozco surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Orozco?
Name Census estimates that about 74,998 living Americans carry the surname Orozco. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 4,570 residents.
How common is Orozco?
Orozco ranks #500 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 21.88 per 100,000 residents, which is about 22 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 65,402 people with the surname Orozco. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (74,998), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 21.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 21.88 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 22 of them to have the surname Orozco.
Has Orozco become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Orozco went from 65,904 recorded bearers to 65,402. That is a decrease of 502 (-0.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #512 to #500.
What does the Census say about the background of Orozco?
Among Census respondents with the surname Orozco, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.9%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Orozco in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.9% (62,084 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Orozco appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (94.9%), White (3.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Orozco (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Orozco mean?
A Basque habitational surname indicating a person from any of the various places called Orozco in northern Spain. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Orozco (21.88 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Orozco?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.